I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 69 – Counterfire

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“Good job, everyone!”

“Great work, everyone!”

Amid applause, the second day was coming to an end.

The cheers that had shaken the room gradually died down, and the more than a hundred participants – actually, there were more than a hundred – disappeared one by one, leaving behind faintly glowing fragments of light. To be precise, it was more accurate to say that they had logged out of the session.

The preliminary ranks had less than a week left. The scrims were heating up day by day, and only the top hundred out of thousands of participants would earn a ticket to the Korea Selection Match.

Given the number of people, their destinations would converge in several directions but would not be entirely the same.

Those who hadn’t been chosen or were not particularly interested quickly left the room, while those picked by the roughly fifteen professional gamers per session moved to newly created private sessions.

And among them, today was the scrim session hosted by SSM.

Yoo Jin, who had received numerous questions from the professional gamers in that room, demonstrated excellent maneuvering defense as always, using Dice, a professional gamer from SSM whom she had recently gotten to know by chance, as her shield.

In short, as always, she escaped, leaving behind numerous questions from others about when and how she had become so close with Dice.

So, once again, in Dice’s private booth.

By now, the two of them spoke quite comfortably.

“…I can’t do this tomorrow. I almost died from a headache all day while scrimming today. How on earth do you maintain your stamina, Yoo Jin?”

“Work harder. Find time to do some cardio.”

“It’s easy to say….”

Thud.

Her golden hair, which had flopped face down, swayed on the desk.

Scrimming right after completing the highest difficulty mission for over three hours was a grueling task. Dice had expected it to be just a regular practice, but things hadn’t gone her way.

Of course, to say things hadn’t gone her way meant every moment was a desperate struggle to survive, far from a moderate playthrough.

Although no one knew this except Dice, Yoo Jin had carried her team through the highest difficulty mission and then won nearly 17 out of 25 matches in the SSM scrim, just like she had at Xi yesterday.

Was she even human?

The question rose to her throat, but she couldn’t say it aloud due to the experiences they had shared…and it would be rude.

Moreover, considering the possibilities, she might be one of those manifestors often talked about. Given her endless stamina and seemingly superhuman strength, that explanation made more sense.

Anyway, that wasn’t important.

This was a kind of…personal debriefing time.

“Does that training method work?”

“Well…hmm, it seems to have helped a bit today. I don’t think my reaction speed has improved, but I did fight pretty desperately….”

“The one who survives is the strong one.”

“You know, I heard a similar saying as an auditory hallucination during the match?”

“Oh dear, you should see a doctor.”

It was too hard to blame her…Dice always knew when to be strong and when to be weak. She tended to sulk in a corner like a scolded pet rather than complain.

Anyway, putting that aside, Yoo Jin was a walking mystery. What kind of work had she done to have such skills, what kind of training had she undergone to produce such consistent results without any fluctuations?

The fact that she didn’t share any of this made her frustratingly inscrutable.

Of course, there was another frustrating thing about her.

“Ah, about the short-term contract proposal you mentioned last time. I think I can give a positive response. Could you relay that to the AP Division? I don’t have a way to contact them directly.”

“…Yoo Jin, you’re really unpredictable from start to finish.”

“Let’s just say it’s personal interest.”

It was difficult to predict what she would do next.

Perhaps what she said was true. It was indeed personal interest driving her actions, which made little sense otherwise. While it was good for Dice, who knew if Yoo Jin felt the same way.

Several screens floated in the air.

What was displayed was part of the day’s gameplay footage, which had no reason to be released externally until a certain point – a fragment of the privileges enjoyed as a professional gamer.

Yoo Jin’s and Dice’s gameplay screens were shown. One side seemed relatively relaxed while the other fought a particularly tough battle today, yet her skill remained evident.

Occasionally, when Yoo Jin burned herself out – becoming a storm and eliminating everyone around her from the session – she still ended up in the top ranks.

Her reputation as a professional gamer was intact.

It was just that Yoo Jin, who had appeared out of nowhere, was exceptionally abnormal.

“…Anyway, that’s good. Today’s scrim proved that you’re not just good for one day. Everyone will try to team up with you, which our side will appreciate.”

“That’s a relief.”

After a brief silence, Yoo Jin added,

“I read the contract, and there’s nothing particularly problematic…although I won’t always have the time, I’ll do what I can. I’m not confident in my teaching skills, though.”

“You’ll do fine, won’t you?”

“Haha….”

Only an awkward laugh came in response.

[General］Yoo Jin started streaming ㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏ

Let’s rush in!

[All Comments］[By Registration］

­Bullshitㅋㅋ Yoo Jin went to America for pro gaming.

ㄴ[Author］Nope~~~~back now~~~~~~

­19218913 years of Yoo Jin fans who had been waiting, finally skyrocketingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m going to hype this up first ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

­Crazy girl, it’s only been two or three days since the last broadcast, why miss her so much ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴIt’s love.

­Good ㅋㅋ Let’s go and beg for scrim stories as soon as we enter ㅋㅋ

“…Ah, everyone. Long time no see. If it had been possible, I would have streamed the scrim simultaneously, but unfortunately, I could only return now. How have you all been?”

­How do you think we were? We waited for you like dogs for three days without a broadcast. Please stream, play Dark Zone, communicate with us.

­We have nothing to do with that kind of language.

­This madwoman will be scared and run away as soon as she sees the donations ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

­Fact) It’s withdrawal symptoms.

­The chat ratio is 20% human and 80% dogs off the leash ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

­Ah ㅋㅋ If you’re upset, quit. It’s just for fun~~

….

Uh….

The chat was a mess. I couldn’t say my previous streams were particularly fulfilling, nor had I deeply interacted with viewers, but why were there nearly 7,000 people causing such a commotion?

I had announced three days ago that I would be taking a break to prepare for and participate in the scrim, and for other reasons, but I didn’t expect it to cause such a disaster.

It was a little, just a little, overwhelming.

In fact, I started today’s stream not to do much but to announce that I would be creating a personal community on Tree Wiki for smoother announcements.

But as soon as I started the stream, everyone seemed to be talking about scrim-related stories, making the chat lively. After taking some time to read through the comments, many were asking how I managed to win 15 matches in a scrim that included pros.

Frankly, it was this:

‘I knew you were good, but I didn’t know you were this good.’

That was the general gist of the comments and donations pouring in.

Having caused such a big scene, being humble now wouldn’t do much good – of course, that didn’t mean I would start bragging.

I would just say what I could, plainly.

“Regarding the scrim, it seems everyone has a lot of questions…to be honest, it just happened that way. I didn’t expect to win 15 matches either. I did die about eight times. There were really skilled players there.”

­Wow ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

­They must be really good to kill this terminator eight times ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

­No lip service needed, just ‘I died eight times’ explains it all ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

­This is…the future of soloing AP? Impressive!

­A human fighting an armored vehicle 23 times and winning 8 times ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The exaggerated reactions were intense.

I didn’t know when it started, but to them, I was no longer just a user but was being treated like a walking armored vehicle.

Even while saying that, I was thinking about how to properly explain the skills of the other scrim participants…but they were satisfied just knowing I had died.

Of course, it was hard to argue with that.

I decided to just let it go, feeling somewhat resigned.

“…Anyway, that’s what happened. Also, I received many offers from various places after this scrim, but as I mentioned before, I have no intention of turning pro. I can still participate in tournaments as long as the conditions are met. So, maybe I’ll show up as unaffiliated….”

­I heard you got five wildcard offers this time. Is that true?

“Yes. As I mentioned, I declined them all.”

Naturally, this caused quite an uproar.

But what could I do? It was my personal choice.

To ensure the conversation didn’t stay on this topic, I quickly changed the subject.

“Since I’ve started the stream, I’d like to talk about lighter topics

today, away from the Dark Zone. I also have some news for you all.”

­Oh

­What is it? Is something big coming?

­Something big is coming, everyone get ready!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

­Ah ㅋㅋ Who’s excited about this?

­Honestly, I’m not expecting anythingㅋㅋ (Getting ready to have my heart broken)

“Actually…yes. To ensure smoother communication when I’m not streaming, I plan to create a personal bulletin board on Tree Wiki where I can post announcements, and you all can hang out legally. I’ll also set up a Q&A section, so if you have any questions about me, please use that.”

However.

­I knew it, damn it ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

“…Is there a problem?”

I didn’t say anything like you could look forward to it.

Anyway, the chat was going wild on its own – predicting the viewers’ behavior and steering it were obviously different, and it was chaotic, to say the least.

The chat was already filled with people lying down.

I kind of understood. Due to my circumstances, I couldn’t share much, but from their perspective, it must have felt like they were being constantly teased…a term I was no longer associated with, but it wasn’t much different.

But that’s that, and this is this.

I won’t forgive those who disregard the streamer’s stance.

I decided to use a trick Harmony taught me.

“…Since there are so many heartfelt comments today, I will start a calm game to cool things down. Once the mood settles, we can talk more.”

Swoosh.

And the screen that appeared before me───

­Damn itㅋㅋㅋㅋ Teacher, what did we do wrongㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏ

“Everyone, let go of your obsessions and find psychological peace.”

Jump Master.

One should always subdue a topic with a bigger one.

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